Naruko: Brave
by PointDextra
Summary: Naruko, a young orphan girl who grew up on the streets is troubled by her past and afraid of being alone. She is determined to overcome her childhood traumas and emerge as both a stronger ninja and a stronger person. - "One day my heart will be brave too, dattebayo." Fem!Naruto, NaruxSasuke or NaruxNeji, Mentor Kakashi.
1. Beginnings P1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just having fun messing around in the Naruto sandbox.

Background: Naruko is kicked out of the orphanage at the age of four, the ANBU assigned to watch over her is secretly neglecting Naruko and giving the Hokage fake reports which is why he never intervenes in her life. (partly so he doesn't draw attention to her and partly because it's hard for him to be around her without remembering the Kyubii attack and her parents, etc) Kakashi is staying as far away from her as she can because it's too painful to be around her and as far as he is aware she is being taken care of. Thus Naruko lives her life on the streets and picks up a few more tricks than she did in the anime.

**Let's Go! **

Naruko was aware that she never had much a childhood. Most of her earliest memories consisted of cold nights and a sore stomach from lack of food, but it hadn't been all bad. As she got older she learned how to survive and create a more comfortable life for herself. She became stealthy in order to steal food from the market vendors, fast for when she wasn't stealthy enough and got caught, and all of the glares and insults from the villagers gave her a thicker skin. It also gave her a goal; to become Hokage and force the villagers to acknowledge her. So she started training herself, that isn't to say she didn't have any fun. In fact a lot of her training consisted of pulling pranks and then playing escape the Chunin, later Jounin, and by the time she was able to enter the academy it was escape the ANBU. Naruko knew she was a talented girl. She was fast, strong, creative, and stealthy. It wasn't her fault her test scores didn't reflect that, it was the teachers. They were messing with her because they didn't like her, she knew it! She just didn't know how to expose them. Instead she settled for playing rather nasty pranks on the teachers that screwed her over and made sure she got caught so they would move her into another class. That was until this teacher, Iruka-sensei. She had pranked him right off the bat and all he did was lecture her and tell her to go back to her seat.

Naruko just didn't get it, any other teacher would have had her dumped off on someone else but even as the whispers circulated around the room amongst the students about "that girl is an idiot", "my mom says not to hang around that girl because she is evil", and so on. All Iruka ever did was scold her when she acted out. His classes were also the ones she got the best grades in. It was almost like he cared, or at the very least didn't treat her any differently than the rest of the kids. It took her a while but the day Naruko realised Iruka cared was the day her whole world changed for the better, she had finally found her second precious person.

She'd kill anyone who told Sasuke-teme he was her first precious person, being her rival and all, and then deny it until the cows came home. She was taking this one to her grave.

Things started changing for Naruko and Iruka after that. No more did she play malicious pranks on Iruka, though she did play some pranks on him and often skipped class to pull a prank on a nasty market vendor. Though her behaviour always irked Iruka he did see the changes in her behaviour, she at least tried to pay attention in classes, she never left thumb tacks on his chair anymore, and she even called him "Iruka-sensie" instead of "Big-Head-sensei". As Iruka became a precious person to Naruko she in turn became one of his precious students. That's when he started to notice things.

It was a few weeks in to her second year in Iruka's class when he approached her with the first of his concerns. She was in detention for causing a scene when she didn't want to read for the class.

"Naruko, why wouldn't you read today?" he asked. Naruko huffed and turned her head away.

"Because reading about history is stupid! Believe it! Why should I waste my time reading about things old people did when I could be learning cool new jutsu?" she replied huffily. Iruka pulled a scroll out of his back pocket and placed it in front of her.

"Alright then. This is the jutsu I'm going to be teaching you all next week, you can get a head start on it if you can read the instructions to me." He said. Naruko stared down at the paper in awe. The temptation was almost too much! Just imagine the look on everyone's faces next week when she could perform the jutsu before them. Especially Duck-Butt! He'd be so pissed! Naruko opened the scroll with gusto determined to learn the jutsu and then faulted. There was a problem she hadn't thought about, she couldn't actually read. Stone faced she turned to look at Iruka.

"This is a lame jutsu." She said slowly in a strained voice. She was lying though her teeth here! She really wanted to know!

"Oh? Is it? I thought the clone jutsu was pretty cool myself, it doesn't matter though. You still need to know it in order to graduate." Iruka said. He was watching her start to sweat, looking between him and the scroll. He could tell her frustration was mounting and intervened before she could have an outburst. It was just as he feared wasn't it? "Naruko. It's okay, you don't have to read that right now." He saw her relax visibly. He put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. "Naruko, I need you to be honest with me, and don't worry, no matter what you say you aren't going to be in trouble. Okay?" he said. Naruko looked panicked despite his soft tone.

"U-um okay Iruka-sensei." She said.

"Naruko, do you know how to read?" he asked. Naruko looked at him for a moment before turning away as her eyes began to water. He could see her face start to flush in embarrassment. She was quiet for a little bit collecting herself. She hadn't wanted Iruka-sensei to find out but…

"No." she said quietly. Iruka let out a soft breath and patted her shoulder.

"It's okay, I will teach you. I have a few more questions okay? The orphanage was supposed to teach you how to read well before you entered the academy. Were the teachers refusing to teach you?" he asked. Naruko shook her head and Iruka felt relived for a moment.

"No, not exactly." She said.

"What do you mean? Was it hard for you to learn so they gave up, or what do you mean by not exactly? Did you refuse to learn?" he asked. Naruko shook her head again.

"No its not any of that either…" she said now staring at her hands. The lines on her knuckled were pretty interesting, don't you know? Iruka's eyebrows furrowed together. Something about this whole thing was fishy and left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Naruko, you know you can tell me anything right? I'm on your side. Why haven't you learned how to read yet?" He asked patiently.

"The orphanage doesn't start teaching kids how to read or do math until they're five, you know…" she said. Iruka nodded encouragingly.

"Yes, I do. Go on Naruko." He said. It was a little like pulling teeth but as her teacher he had to know, then he would go over and talk to the orphanage's matron about it.

"Well, I haven't lived there since I was four, dattebayo."

And for a moment the whole world stopped.

"What? Huh? What? What do you mean? Where have you been living?" Iruka asked a bit frazzled. Naruko turned to him with a big grin and a victory sign.

"I can take care of myself dattebayo! I'm way cooler than you expected aren't I Iruka-sensei?" She boasted. It was fake of course but she didn't like the way Iruka-sensei was looking at her and she was feeling uncomfortable sharing this with him. Especially because the reason they kicked her out was so weird. 'We raise children here, not demons.' The matron had said.

"You've been living on your own?" Iruka asked slowly and quietly. His gaze was set hard on Naruko and it made her feel a little afraid.

"Iruka-sensei? I, its okay! Its not like they were very nice to me anyways, I'm much better off without them dattebayo! I'll learn to read too, dattebayo!" she promised trying to calm her suddenly angry teacher down. She really hadn't meant to make him angry at her.

"Where?" he asked. Naruko looked at him funny.

"Huh?" she said.

"Where have you been living?" he explained.

"Oh! Well… you know. Wherever. There's this apartment building with only a few civilians living in it, I can usually sneak in there because the land lady is lazy and doesn't check the rooms unless her husband is around. He's a travelling merchant so that isn't very often. I have a special place too that's great when the weather is nice! It's by a lake, well okay it's a big pond, so I can go swimming whenever I want and no one goes by there so I can train too!" Naruko continued to ramble on about her hide outs and favorite places rather excitedly. To be honest she was quite proud of the way she lived. She knew the villagers didn't like her and wanted to see her fail so the fact that she was doing such a good job at thriving despite all their attempts to ruin her hard work made her really proud. She didn't understand why Iruka-sensie started to look so sad as she talked.

"Naruko… I want you to stay here for a few minutes? Can you do that for me? You can look over this scroll, practice the hand signs shown in the pictures, they are listed in order." He said. Naruko cocked her head to the side.

"Eh? You're really going to teach me this ahead of time?" she asked. Iruka nodded.

"Yes, but first I have to go talk to someone. I'll be back shortly okay?" he said. Naruko nodded her head enthusiastically and then threw her arms around him.

"You're the best Iruka-sensei!" she said excitedly and quickly let go to focus on the scroll, the earlier somber atmosphere was completely forgotten about by her. Iruka chuckled, told her to behave, and left. He and the Hokage were going to have a few words.

It had been a devastating blow for the Hokage to learn that Naruko's life had not been going the way he had blindly allowed himself to believe. The Hokage had ordered for the ANBU assigned to guard and watch over Naruko to be interrogated and then banished from Konoha for failing to perform their duties on purpose and lying to their Hokage for years. Hiruzen met with Naruko in person for the first time after the ANBU were dealt with. It may have been painful for him to be reminded of the Kyubi attack and all those deaths but it hurt so much more to know his cowardice to face the past is what lead to Naruko living a life so full of pain and neglect. He vowed to make it up to her.

He arranged for her to get a monthly allowance, an apartment of her own, regular medical check ups which revealed her to be less malnourished than expected though still malnourished, and he spent a great deal of time with her. Over time she began to look up to him, he became her third precious person, and it filled him with guilt because she had no idea how bad he had wronged her. He felt a little less guilty when she started getting brave enough to pull him into some of her more friendly pranks, and even less so when she started bankrupting him at Ichiraku's Ramen stand. Thus went Naruko's second year in the academy. It was almost overwhelming how happy she was. Now if only she could get a hang of the Clone Jutsu.

Her third year things started calming down as she got used to her new routine. The Hokage didn't leave his work as often as he used to though he still made time to spend with her. Naruko got used to the idea of going home to one place after class everyday, though there were a lot of nights when you could still find Naruko at her "special place" if you knew where to look. She had gotten much better at reading since the start of her second year and her grade has started to pick up though they were still pretty low considering she didn't listen quite as hard as she should in some subjects. Like history. She hated history. Her rivalry with Duck-Butt was picking up too, he was starting to purposely get in her way just to piss her off and that only made he want to beat him more! One of these day! Iruka-sensei had said he was just "pulling pigtails" and was he ever! He had pulled them twice in one day once! He had also taken to calling her "Dobe". She was not the Dobe. Kiba was the Dobe , dattebayo. All in all her third year went by like a dream. Naruko thought she may as well be living a fairy tale.

It wasn't until her birthday that reality really kicked in again for her.

After and amazing day with Iruka and the Hokage Naruko went home, new gifts in tow. Iruka had given her a frog wallet she promptly named Gamma-chan and a framed picture of the two of them. The Hokage had bought her new clothes and given her a framed picture as well. The day ended in tragedy when in an attempt to kill her a group of villagers burned down her apartment while she was sleeping. Naruko had made it out with Gamma-chan, her beloved orange jumpsuit and undies, and her two pictures. Naruko spent the night at Iruka's house.

She didn't sleep much that night and was awake before the sun came up. The burning of her apartment had reminded Naruko that just because a few things in her life had changed didn't mean all of her problems were solved forever. In the end she still hadn't done a thing to earn the respect of the villagers, she still wasn't even a ninja yet, and unless she worked hard nothing was going to change at all. With her mind set and resolve renewed Naruko left Iruka's house, stole some paint and got to work. It would be her best prank yet.

The morning light revealed Naruko's masterpiece to all of Konoha. She had given the faces of the Hokage's a full makeover. She was proud of herself. She managed to deface and entire mountain without getting caught, then when people finally did notice she managed to dodge all sorts of ninja sent to catch her. Really, did these guys know who they were dealing with? It would be just her luck that Iruka would catch her while she pretended to be a booger hanging from the fourth's nose. Sometimes having blond hair was the greatest. She made a pretty impressive booger.

Iruka had gotten mad at her for defacing the Hokage monument and made her scrub it clean. Later that night he had taken pity on her and helped her clean it up before treating her to Ichiraku's.

"Naruko, I know last night was awful but why would you deface the Hokage monument? You should have respect for our Hokage's. They are the strongest shinobi in the village and without them there wouldn't be a village at all." He explained. Naruko huffed.

"Yeah so what? One day I'm going to be Hokage too! Im going to be the best on this world has ever seen! That's a promise, dattebayo! Then everyone will look up to me and respect me! I'll prove to them all that I'm not a monster, or a demon, or a Dobe, or a pest. I'll be the best they've ever seen!"

It had been a powerful statement and moved Iruka. He chuckled and patted her head.

"I believe you." He said. Naruko gave him a thousand watt smile and thanked him. "First however you have to graduate the academy, how is your clone jutsu coming along?" He said slyly. Naruko's smile faltered before she laughed and scratched the back of her head.

"Ahahaha, you know, super awesome! Cause I'm the best! Thirds please old man!"

"Coming right up Naruko!" Teuchi said happily.

"How do you eat so much? You're going to bankrupt me one day." Iruka complained.

"Ahhh, that was great, fourths please!" was her relpy.

"Oi! You literally JUST got your third bowl! How could you have possibly ate it that fast!?"

"Fifths!"

"Augh! Stop it! My money!"

**End of Chapter**

Poor Iruka is doomed to be poor. Next chapter starts near the end of her last year, there will be interaction between Naruko and her classmates. I consider the real srtory to begin after the graduation. That when Ill stop ghosting over events. Bye for now!


	2. Guard Dog

I CHANGED MY MIND SO HARD! THIS CHAPTER PICKS UP RIGHT WHERE I LEFT OF LAST CHAPTER! So many ideas. That's all I have to say. Really didn't need the cap locks. But you read it didn't you ;)

I own nothing

Prepare for **long dialogue**. I got a little carried away. So much fun man! Bit of a filler chapter. Darn you exams.

**Let's Go**

Kakashi Hatake, or Dog as he was known as right now, arrived at the Hokage's office to give his report two hours after his arrival back in the village. He had just returned from the land of rice after an infiltration and assassination mission. It had been a success of course but over three days early and that left Kakashi feeling frustrated. The Hokage would make him wait his mandatory two days plus the three days before he was given another mission. It might even be with a team next time, as he was occasionally forced to do. The Hokage was worried that he over worked himself and the stress of the job would tax his mind and burn him out, damage his sanity as it were. He didn't understand that it was the only thing that made him feel much of anything at all anymore. He liked the distraction. Mah, mah, it didn't really matter though, the Hokage was the Hokage and that meant he didn't have to understand. He gave the orders and you followed them. It was a good system and it worked. However the order the Hokage was about to give him might end up changing his mind about that.

In light of recent events, namely the attempt on Naruko's life, the Hokage had decided that it was time to reinstate a guard for Naruko. However this time it couldn't be just anyone. He couldn't run the risks of another ANBU defecting. However, the only person he _knew_ he could trust was the one person who would want to do it the least.

"I respectfully request you reconsider this Hokage-sama. My service in ANBU on solo missions has been spotless and at an all-time high. Taking me out of the field could be detrimental to Konoha."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Dog. You're service is indeed very valuable, in your missions you have performed admirably and without fault, and there is no doubt you are one of the best in the ANBU ranks. I also know that I can trust you. Which is exactly why I need you here in the village. There has been a recent change of events in the village and I have a job of the utmost importance for you to do. It is a matter I feel I cannot entrust to anyone else. Do you understand?" He asked. His voice held no room for argument. He knew Kakashi would not like this but there was no other way. The Hokage hoped that after the mission was explained he would change his tune a little.

"Hai Hokage-sama, I understand. I will accept the mission without fail." Said Dog. His voice was monotone and held no inflections betraying a calm he probably didn't feel.

"Alright then. You are to tell no one of what we discus in my office today. Though perhaps it would be best if you sat down Dog and removed your mask. This conversation is better held with Kakashi I think."

Dog stood at attention for a moment longer, it was a strange request after all, but soon he and taken off his mask and settled himself into the couch off to the side of the desk under the window.

"Mah, mah Hokage-sama, what kind of trouble have I signed myself up for?" asked Kakashi. The Hokage chuckled, removed his hat and rubbed the top of his balding head.

"Oh Kakashi, I'm afraid it may be me who is in trouble when everything is said and done. This mission… Four ANBU have already been banished from the village with their chakra pathways permanently destroyed by Hiashi Hyuga for purposely sabotaging the mission and lying to me about it." Admitted Hiruzen. Kakashi's eyebrow rose and his stare turned serious. Defecting amongst ranks of such a magnitude was unheard of. In fact Kakashi wasn't sure if it had ever happened before.

"You're kidding?" he said.

"I am afraid not. Worse yet, is they got away with it for five years. The mission has been inactive for a full year now but circumstances have made it apparent that it needs to be reinstated. Do you see now why I need someone I can trust to work this mission so badly? I am aware that you prefer to stay out of the village as much as possible but this mission required for you to let go of such desires. It is a full time job, long term; years long, and almost exclusively in the village. Certain allowances can be made at times. I am not so cruel as to allow you no freedom as you will be the only one entrusted with this mission, but it will demand most of your time."

Kakashi nodded his head. The Hokage was really drawing this one out and it was making him feel apprehensive. Whatever this mission was, he wasn't going to like it. How could he refuse it though?

"The reason I prefer to have this discussion in such a manner is because your mission is to become the new ANBU guard of Naruko Uzumaki." Said the Hokage. Kakashi froze. There it was, the reason he wouldn't like this mission, the reason the Hokage was so worked up about this mission, the reason those ANBU…

"What did those ex-ANBU do to her Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked, voice and body stiff. He may avoid any and all contact with the girl because she was a constant reminder of the loss of his sensei and team but she was still his sensei's legacy. He did care. The Hokage shook his head.

"No not to her, not that I can tell. It's what they didn't do. This is not an easy story to tell Kakashi, and I would prefer not to repeat it so I would ask that you wait until I am finished before you ask questions, or depart."

"Hai Hokage-sama. Just tell me first, is she alright?" Kakashi asked. He couldn't help it, he was worried. His mind relaxed with relief when the Hokage nodded.

"Yes, she is fine. Now. However for a time I imagine her life was anything but fine. Perhaps some refreshments?" Said the Hokage. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a bottle of Sake. Kakashi declined.

"I must confess I have done a terrible thing. In my cowardice I have failed Naruko Uzumaki in a horrible way. I avoided meeting her for fear of the past, fear of the pain, of the reminder of that day, and she paid dearly for it. When she was born I assembled a team of ANBU to guard her and her secret as she grew up. I picked members who were known to be the most compassionate in their ranks and entrusted to them a child, all but one were women as I had hoped to spark a maternal bond of sorts towards Naruko. For a time this may have been the case, but I am grieved to say it did not last. Every week, or whenever something notable happened the ANBU were tasked with reporting to me her condition. They came to me with things like 'today she spoke her first word; "Puppy" 'or 'she has taken her first steps'. These reports were true at the beginning and so I blindly allowed myself to believe them, their stories always matched up and I always thought I had no reason to distrust my closest ANBU. Over the years I can only imagine how many stories they spun me. Naruko's life has not at all been what you and I have believed it to be. The facts are going to be a hard truth to swallow Kakashi but they are important to the mission." The Hokage took a swig of his sake and let them both mentally prepare for the conversation ahead.

"When Naruko was four the Orphanage I had placed her in abandoned her. They sent her out onto the streets to fend for herself. The Matron working in tandem with the ANBU managed to keep it quiet, and of course none of the villagers reported it, the ANBU had done a fine job of spreading news of her being the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. They all hated her. From what she has told me at the time she believed she was kicked out because she was better than the other kids, more mature and deemed ready to tackle the world but as she thinks back on it now she remembers the matron calling her a demon child. Rest assured she still doesn't know about the demon inside her but I fear it is only a matter of time. She did manage to survive on her own, she attributes that to feeling so confident at the start and wanting to live up to everyone's expectations. I can't get into too many details about how she lived and survived right now. She hasn't told me very much. She grew up isolated Kakashi, adults hated her, kids shunned her because of their parents, and market vendors wouldn't sell her food. It was probably a very lonely and hard life. She could have turned out so much different than she has. If we hadn't discovered she was homeless last year maybe she still would have. But we did and she didn't. She has grown up to be a wonderful young girl, a tomboy perhaps but wonderful all the same. She is very cheerful, and despite what she has gone through I don't think she actually hates anyone for the way they treat her. In fact she has taken it as motivation to become "the best" her dream is to become the next Hokage. That isn't to say she doesn't resent them a little. That is what started her pranking after all. You must be aware that for an academy student this little girl can get in an extraordinary amount of trouble. Also, for an academy student she is extremely good at getting out of it. The police force-"Both cringed at the mention of the semi-recently slaughtered Uchiha Clan, "used to send out ninja to catch Naruko after she pulled one of her pranks. These days when we have to send someone out to catch her to take responsibility for her pranks we send out ANBU, and Iruka… It's always Iruka that finds her, I should just stop sending ANBU. Anyways my point is, she is stealthy and I have a strong hunch that she is able to unconsciously hide her chakra signature when she knows she is being perused. There haven't been any other explanations as to why ANBU have such a hard time finding her and keeping track of her. She is also fast, she has had a lot of experience running. A lot. Kakashi that girl plays too many pranks. Apparently it's paid off though. Just a couple nights ago she defaced the entire Hokage monument without alerting anyone to it until the sun came up. Where she then proceeded to dangle out of the fourth's nose like a booger!" The Hokage was already laughing at the memory and Kakashi was looking on in horror. She had _defaced_ the Hokage Monument, the most (next to the memorial stone) sacred ancient monument the village had, and the Hokage was laughing about it. Hard. The world had gone mad. "Oh my, before I start bragging like a proud grandfather let us get back on track. Do you see what I'm trying to get at? She is going to be a handful all on her own which is part of the reason I would like someone capable watching over her. Perhaps she may not get away with as many pranks yes? However, that is not the only reason. The day before the monument incident was her birthday, that night the villagers burnt down her apartment in an attempt to kill her. She made it out without injury but she has lost almost everything she owns, which is not much. That is why I want you to be her guard. You do not have to approach her, unless you want to, just keep her safe until she graduates. That is all I can think of right now. This will be treated as an A-class mission and you shall be paid accordingly. Alright Kakashi, feel free to ask any questions you have." He said. Kakashi meanwhile had vacated his spot on the couch and was drinking freely from the Sake bottle. Would it be okay to yell at the Hokage? Would he be hung for treason? Such thoughts were running through his mind. Kakashi was man. Furious even. How could the Hokage have let this happen? She was supposed to be safe! She had been safe, the hokage had told him that for years! Yet all this time she was… she was…

"How long was she on her own?"

"Five years. She is technically still on her own. She refused to live with Iruka, being on her own so long I suppose the thought of no longer being independent would feel something like losing your freedom."

"She will be getting another apartment then?"

"Yes I have one arranged for the end of the week."

"I see. Has the orphanage been dealt with?"

"Harshly." Kakashi nodded his head in approval.

"Why did no one tell me when it was discovered a year ago?"

Silence. The Hokage looked down guiltily.

"I had hoped not to tell you for a very long time." He admitted. Kakashi's hand tightened on the bottle. "What would you have done if I had? Nothing would have change except the amount of guilt you carry around with you would have increased. You would have demanded more missions and avoided her for longer. At least this way you can do something about it." The Hokage defended. Kakashi could say nothing, he was right but it didn't mean he had to like it.

"How… Why did this… I mean both of us just let it happen. I knew, I knew she hardly had a friend in the world, and I'm not one of them but I should have cared, do care, but I never once tried to help her. I was selfish!"

"Enough Kakashi. You are getting too worked up, and hardly making sense. The fault of this tragedy is not your to bare. It is mine, and mine alone. I am asking you to redeem me by guarding her."

A great sigh escaped Kakashi and all at once the stress of the mission, the day, and the past seemed to weigh him down and stoop his shoulders.

"This is too much right now Hokage-sama, I would like to be excused now." He said. The Hokage nodded.

"Of course. Naruko is staying at Iruka's until the end of the week. That is when your mission will begin. And Kakashi? You should at least consider meeting her in person. I think you would like her." _I think it would help you both heal. _He though. Then Kakashi blinked out of his office.

**Chapter End**

So much more I want to write but I just don't have time. It was either one really long chapter or split it into a couple, and I chose to split it up. Will update in a few days after I crush all my lab finals. Bye for now!


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